Winter 2001-2002
Talking Memories
Photo by Diana Watters
Jevne Pennock doesn't like to talk about herself. "They know all this already," she says with a smile, gently deflecting a visitor's question.
Maybe not, but Pennock is something of a legend in certain circles, particularly among friends of the School of Music and Minnesota Opera, both of which have been beneficiaries of her civic and financial support.
It is only when she talks about her student days at the University that she is likely to elaborate, retelling the stories that are her favorites. She attended the University during the Depression, taking "three different streetcars," she says, from her St. Paul home to campus. "Tuition was a dollar a credit, and it was very difficult then to come up with the $15 to take a full course load. I loved it. I went to all the football and basketball games. I had roots. It was a small place for me."
And now the memories roll out: How, having trained in dance since the age of 14, she danced in every University Singers production between 1932 and 1937. How she met her husband, George, when he was the University Singers' business manager, and how they costarred in the operetta, "The Student Prince." How she loved her Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. How she performed for a sold-out audience in Northrop Auditorium as the second lead in "The New Moon."
"Imagine!" she says with shining eyes. "The place was jam-packed! It was my favorite because I had to speak and sing-although," she adds with a sly whisper, "I couldn't sing."
Commitment and impact
Maybe. But that didn't dim her love for music or, for that matter, her future with George and the couple's eventual impact on the Minnesota cultural scene.
Over the years, the Pennocks helped found the Minnesota Opera Company, established the Pennock-Sutton Opera Fund at the U's School of Music, and worked tirelessly on behalf of the Minnesota Orchestra. They also endowed the Pennock Land-Grant chair for Diabetes Research at the Medical School, in memory of their daughter who died of the disease.
Since her husband's death in 1997, Pennock has continued her generous support for the University, funding the spring dance floor in the Barbara Barker Center for Dance and serving in a number of board capacities.
A woman of substance
Amid all of this, through all the years, she has, by common affirmation, maintained a certain legendary style and graciousness that seem to be her hallmark. And beneath that style is a woman of uncommon substance.
"Jevne Pennock was one of the first people I met when I interviewed for a job here," recalls School of Music director Jeffrey Kimpton. "She sat down next to me, and within a few minutes and a couple of questions I knew that I was in the presence of an extraordinary lady with an extraordinary commitment to the arts.
"For so many years and so many projects, Jevne and George opened their hearts and shared their treasures because they loved the arts so passionately. Jevne carries on that passion every day in her personal involvement and constant attention to our success and our future. All of us at the University, in the arts, and in this community will be forever enriched by her wisdom and loyalty."
For some, Pennock also has been a mentor. Sally Howard, who was director of the Abbott-Northwestern Auxiliary when Pennock was on the auxiliary board, remembers how important Pennock was to her early in her career.
"She helped me grow up," says Howard, who continues her friendship with Pennock to this day. "She's a person who fully lives her beliefs."
Today, one of George's hats still hangs on a rack near the front door of the spacious, 22nd-floor Minneapolis condominium where Jevne Pennock has lived for 17 years. Surrounded by the art and books and artifacts she has collected over a lifetime, Pennock remains as vital as the student dancer who performed to a sold-out Northrop, attending the symphony and opera, and going to multitudinous board meetings.
"Those make me the happiest," she laughs. "I don't gossip and I don't play bridge. But I really like to go to board meetings."